


A bit like Tony Stark (but nowhere near as cool)

by Atalto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Happy Birthday mint, Hurt/Comfort, It's really not that bad, Lance Needs a Hug, Langst, M/M, Mentioned Drugging, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Shiro is a good boyfriend, The focus is the recovery, There's not actually that much violence but I just want to be safe, Violence, Water Torture, near-drowning, supportive shiro, this looks really bad as i type it out tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 20:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14601288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atalto/pseuds/Atalto
Summary: I'm scared, Lance had admitted that night, fuelled by multiple swigs from Veronica's beer bottle and his friends' stolen alcohol, what if I don't make friends? What if I don't fit in?Luis had laughed at that, ruffling his hair as they stood at the shoreline; the waves were gently rushing in over their ankles, and Lance could see him tense with each one.You're going to a special, fancy military school, and you're most worried about not making friends? He asked with a laugh, pressing a hot dog into Lance's hands, you'll be great Lance, I'll look out for your name on TV soon.Two years later, Lance hopes his name was on TV.After all, he thinks as the blank-faced alien smashes his head into the trough of water again, it was all that was going to be left of him at this rate.





	A bit like Tony Stark (but nowhere near as cool)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SinMint](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinMint/gifts).



> Time for something a little bit different, I guess :')  
> This was written for my buddy Mint's birthday, I hope it's okay for you (And not too over the top if that makes sense - you did ask for Langst and at this point its go big or go home)
> 
> I SWEAR it's not as bad as the warning's make it out to be, but I just want to be safe.
> 
> Also I'm experimenting with a different writing style here, please shout if it's weird or doesn't feel right.
> 
> Enjoy (?)

When Lance was nine, Luis nearly drowned.

He remembers it being nothing like he saw in the movies, no loud screaming and flailing of arms as the entire beach quietens in fear of a drowning thirteen year old.

Instead, he didn't notice anything was wrong until Papa dived in to get him, when he wasn't coming back when Mama called.

He remembers Luis kneeling on the beach, sand coating his body as he coughed up lungful after lungful of seawater, Papa dutifully rubbing his back as he struggled for breath against his coughing. He remembers Mama holding him and Veronica close as Marco rushed over to help, waving over a lifeguard as he offered his younger brother sips of water from a bottle. Veronica was crying, gripping Lance's hand painfully and squeezing whenever Luis coughed; Mama just hushed them both, kissing both of their heads gently whilst always keeping one eye on her sons as Luis retched onto the sand. The only time he couldn't remember Mama keeping him close was when she retrieved her phone to call an ambulance when his lips wouldn't stop turning blue.

He remembers hospital afterwards, the sickly stench of antibacterial cleaner and harsh white lighting. The doctors said he had pneumonia as a result of seawater in his lungs, along with oxygen deprivation.

He has to stay at the hospital for now, Mama told him as she bundled him into the back seat of the car, wrapped in a beach towel between Veronica and Marco, but we can visit him tomorrow. Papa will stay with him, Marco said, he'll be okay.

Marco was fifteen at the time, tall and strong, a key player in his grade's football team.

Lance had never seen him cry as hard as he had that night.

Thankfully, Luis made a full recovery. Sometimes he would get a little short of breath at the beach for years afterwards, and Mama would worry, place her hands on his shoulders despite him now being taller than her by a head and a half, ask if he was okay over and over. Luis would say yes in that gentle, exasperated tone of someone who had been fussed over his entire life, and sit back on the towel to start slathering sun cream on his arms and legs. He'd always wait to go in the sea though, holding Veronica's hand as she lead him into the waves or running after Lance and Marco with a beach ball between his hands. He never went in alone, always with someone, leaving when they did and following them around in the water like a puppy.

Papa asked him to go in alone once, to retrieve a tennis ball they'd lost.

He didn't talk to them for the rest of the trip.

He's being ridiculous, Lance heard Papa say that night as he crept down the stairs for a drink after bedtime.  
Mama clicked her tongue in distain. After what he's been through, she replied, tone clipped and short, what do you expect?

Even years afterwards, at Lance's celebratory party for getting into the Garrison when he was seventeen, Luis was weird around the water. He tended the barbecue most of the night, passing drinks to tired adults who wanted to relax, and fending off the date invites and comments from Lance's high school friends with cheery laughs and gifts of slightly charred burgers.

I'm scared, Lance had admitted that night, fuelled by multiple swigs from Veronica's beer bottle and his friends' stolen alcohol, what if I don't make friends? What if I don't fit in?

Luis had laughed at that, ruffling his hair as they stood at the shoreline; the waves were gently rushing in over their ankles, and Lance could see him tense with each one.   
You're going to a special, fancy military school, and you're most worried about not making friends? He asked with a laugh, pressing a hot dog into Lance's hands, you'll be great Lance, I'll look out for your name on TV soon.

Two years later, Lance hopes his name was on TV.

After all, he thinks as the blank-faced alien smashes his head into the trough of water again, it was all that was going to be left of him at this rate.

* * *

 

There wasn't anyone he can really blame for this other than himself.

It had been a joint mission between Voltron and the Blade, with the Lions offering air support whilst Keith and Kolivan led a team into a heavily defended industrial faction. It wasn't Galran, not property of the Empire, but afflicted with it; the U'nans had been supplying the Empire with machinery and basic fuel, and intelligence deemed it a large strike point to cripple production.

 _"Lance,"_  Shiro's voice crackled over the comms, accompanied by crashes of rubble and bombs exploding in the sky around them,  _"watch out, they have homing missiles!_ "

"I can handle it, big guy, just watch!" He replied, grinning at the responding groans from anyone else who had happened to be listening. Red rumbled in the back of his head, a daring tease to speed up, go faster, prove them wrong.

 _"I've got four on my left, and three on my right,"_  Pidge called through the comms as they neared the central factory building,  _"a Little help, anyone? Green isn't fast enough to shake them off."_

A nod from Black was all it took, and together they drove the missiles into the factory, managing to get away as the resulting explosion shook the compound.

Shiro had congratulated him afterwards, a grin over a private link as they finished final checks before rendezvousing back with the Blade.  _"I knew you could do it,"_ he said with an affectionate smile, and Lance hoped the other Paladin couldn't see the proud flush that settled on his face,  _"you were awesome back there, Lance!_ "

That was when his sensors went wild, flashing about foreign bodies on the lion, before he lost communications.

Then he lost visual, and all went dark.

* * *

 

Lance wakes up in darkness, with a heavy sense of deja vu. He's hungry, and short of breath for some reason, and his face and shoulders are soaked.

Well, it isn't quite darkness. Yes, it is dark, but there is a crack of light from under a door on the other side of the room. The floor feels cold and hard under his hands, loose stones scratching at his palms; his gloves are gone, great, along with the hard shell of armour, leaving him with just the soft flight suit for protection.

The back of his head itches. He reaches up to touch it and his fingers come away wet.

"Hello?" He calls into the room, only to hear back the close echo of his own voice. It's unnerving, and he can feel his heart start to race in his chest, but he has to stay calm.

Voltron is coming, he tells himself, reaching out to grasp at the wisps of Red's presence in his mind, it'll be alright.  
Red's responding roar travels through his bones, protective and fiery. At least he knows he isn't going to be here for long.

It's then when the door creaks open, pale light flooding the room that makes Lance's eyes sting and water painfully.   
_How long had he been out for?_

He turns away, only for a figure to appear in the doorway; it's tall, willowy frame forced to duck through the entrance, but Lance can't make out any features due to the light levels, even if he squints and shelters his eyes with his wet, trembling hand.

The alien stands for a second, head tilted in what Lance assumes is consideration of the Paladin in front of him, before making a series of clicking noises that remind him of dolphins.   
"So, you awaken," the translator finally spits out; its a bit behind the alien's mouth movements, which makes Lance's concussed brain want to laugh and giggle.

"What do you want from me?" Lance spits in reply, aware of the slurring of his own voice as aching muscles fight against him, "like, seriously, taking people out of the sky, before knocking 'em out and sticking 'em in a dungeon isn't exactly good hospitality, and my Mama  _always_ -"

Before he can finish, the alien stalks over, and slaps him hard across the face. It stings, almost like he's been slapped before, and Lance's traitorous eyes cry at the pain.

"Answer our questions, Paladin," the translator offers, slow and robotic as the Alien clicks in front of him, "and you won't get hurt anymore."

Oh, he's counting on it.

Before he can reply, two more faceless aliens appear at it's side, hooking long limbs under his armpits to drag him out of the cell.  
_We're coming_ , he can hear in the back of his mind as his eyes slip shut,  _we're coming Lance, don't worry._  
He can make out individual voices, if he tries - Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Keith - but the one he chooses to focus on is Shiro.

When he opens his eyes again, he's in another dark room, but it feels like a stable; he can make out chains on the walls, and a straw-like material under his feet. There's a trough in front of him, filled with what looks like water, and he's left wondering where the horse is that lives here.  
"If you wanted weird horse-petplay, all you had to do was ask," he said with a grin, and the alien in front him whips around.

There's a slap across his cheek again, and the noise echoes around the stable grossly.  
At least it went for the other cheek this time, Lance thinks, symmetrical.

The clicking starts up again as the Alien's beak-like mouth moves in the limited light.  
"What is Voltron?" The translator asks, and Lance shrugs. He just pilots an arm, fuck if he knows how to describe it.  
"Where is Voltron?" Probably outside the perimeter of wherever I am now, Lance thinks, but he doesn't say that, instead shrugging again.  
"What is Voltron's weakness?" Now that he honestly doesn't know. He didn't think space dealt in Pokemon-like type advantages,

The Alien, obviously disappointed with his lack of responses, grabs Lance by the shoulder, dragging him to the trough and forcing him into his knees roughly. The rough floor skids his skin despite the flight suit, and it feels like he tripped on the school playground again.

He remembers that Iron Man film that he saw in the cinema with Veronica and her boyfriend, and he feels a bit like Tony Stark. Except it's Voltron, rather than Jericho missiles, and he's nowhere near as cool as Tony was.

Then his head is forced under the water, and Lance finally feels he knows how Luis felt all those years ago.

* * *

 

He's dunked and held under at least three times before the rumbles shake the room, and Red flares in his mind. He actually doesn't feel that bad; the Alien was mostly all bark and no bite, giving him plenty of time to breathe and cough and splutter before each dunk, and obviously had no idea that Lance's experienced swimmers lungs could hold out a little more than ten seconds.

He's still thankful when the doors to the stable fly open in a blaze of yellow bayard shots, streaks of green and blue and purple illuminating the back wall.

"Lance," he hears someone say, and he whips around, breathless, to see Shiro and Hunk stood behind him, concern painting their faces.

"Hey guys," he replies with a breathy grin, and promptly blacks out in Shiro's arms.

* * *

 

When he wakes up again, he's cold, but the room is bright - he can see it behind his eyelids - and he feels himself tip forwards.

But instead of colliding with the floor, he lands in a solid mass of person, warm and protective as two arms lock around his middle.  
"Lance? Can you hear me?"

"Clear as a bell," he replies with a flirtatious grin, and he cracks one eye open slowly to see Shiro, decked in soft-looking sleepwear and blinking lethargically, looking down at him, relieved and happy, "where are the others?"

"Coming now," Shiro replies as he helps Lance out of the pod, never letting his arms go from around his waist, "I had to wake them all up, see, sorry."

There's a purr in the back of his mind as Red rejoices at his awakening, and he grins with the Lion's uncontrollable happiness. "Don't apologise," he murmurs, loosing one of Shiro's hands around his waist to bring it to his mouth, kissing the metal knuckle gently, "I'm just happy to have been woken up by an angel - are you sure I'm not in heaven?"

Shiro quirks an eyebrow, squeezing his waist with his free hand. "Yep, you're fine-"  
"Hey, you love me really!"

There's a hiss of the door to the infirmary opening, before his teammates fill the room, and Shiro let's him go with a knowing smile as Hunk practically runs into a hug, lifting Lance off his feet and into his chest. "Crow dude!" He shouts, and Lance can see the start of Hunk's signature happy tears at the corners of his eyes, "you scared us  _so badly_ , please don't ever get kidnapped and tortured again, okay?"

He nods once Hunk puts him down, only for him to pull him into another right hug; he can hear Shiro laugh gently behind him, and a warm smile splits across his face.

Then, to his utmost surprise, Keith pulls him into a hug; it's kind of stiff, like someone who isn't really used to full body hugs, but Lance wraps his arms around his shoulders and squeezes anyway. "Red was going wild," Keith says quietly, squeezing him tight again, "never leave us again, okay?"

Why was Red going wild? He was gone a day, at most-

"Three days," Keith corrects him, voice cracking subtly, and Lance freezes, "they kept wiping your memory so you didn't get freaked out."

That explained the deja vu, then.  
And the hunger.

He steps away, grimacing sadly at Lance, before Pidge barrels into him.  
"I'm so sorry," she cries, and it's only then that Lance realises she's sobbing, "It's my fault, I should have scanned Red, not asked you for help, stuck up for myself, I'm so  _sorry_ -"

"Woah, Pidge," he interrupts, and she looks up at him for the first time with big watery eyes, "this isn't anyone's fault, right? It happened, but I'm back and I'm still able to kick ass, it's fine."

Pidge shakes her head angrily. "It's not  _fine_ , Lance - you were  _drugged and waterboarded-_ "

"And?" He asks with a shrug, running a weak hand through her hair, "the dude's torture skill was weak as hell, it's not like I was in danger."

To be fair, no one disagrees.

Pidge accepts that with a nod, before pressing in for one final hug. "It's nice to have you back, it was too quiet without you."

"Yeah, and Shiro was a lost cause without you," Keith chimes in, and Lance looks up to see a wicked grin on his face whilst Shiro flushes a brilliant pink.

Despite his laughter, fatigue hits him like a brick. Apparently it's obvious, since Pidge steps away to let Hunk and Shiro sling his arms over their shoulders in support.  
"Bed?" Shiro asks, warmly and simply, and Lance nods.

Bed sounds good right now.

* * *

 

"Shiro, what are you doing?"

When he wakes up for a third time, Shiro is digging through the shared closet in the wall, throwing random clothing items out onto the floor like a dog in a mud pit.

"Allura says there should be swimwear in here somewhere," he replies, before standing back up, grinning victoriously with two pairs of swimming trunks in his hands, one black, one blue.

Lance laughs, intrigued but slightly confused. "But you've always been fine with sharing showers-"

"Not for the showers," Shiro interrupts, and there's a gleam in his eye that Lance files away to come back to later, "we thought today would be a good day for a break, so Ryner's taking us to a beach. Coran's tested the water, and it's safe for us to swim in, so it should be like being back on Earth-"

For some reason, Lance stopped listening at the word 'water'. Static filled his ears instead, accompanied by the percussion of his own heartbeat.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go to the beach,  _oh no._  He had wanted to find a beach ever since they first got into space, and nagged Allura about it whenever they passed by a planet that had the appearance of having oceans. He'd love nothing more that a swim right now, to float freely, finally without the weight of the universe on his shoulders.

But his brain is busy throwing up warning signs. Red flashes at the edge of his vision, a sign of 'stop, go past go, don't collect $200.' There's something filling his throat, his lungs, and he doesn't know what it is because he hasn't eaten or drunk anything yet, and-

"Lance? Are you okay?"

He looks up to see Shiro crouched in front of him, one hand on Lance's knee whilst the other cups his face in concern. The red retracts from his vision, and whatever was in his throat - bile, most likely - is suddenly gone.

"Fine, sorry," he admits - lies - whilst nuzzling into Shiro's warm palm, "just haven't woken up completely yet, what did you say?"  
The lie feels slimy on his tongue, but Shiro seems to accept it.

"I was just saying that Allura arranged it because she thought you might like it, but god knows what alien beaches are like," Shiro repeats with a laugh, kissing Lance's nose gently before standing, "now, do you want to change first or me?"

* * *

 

To be fair to Allura, the beach does remind him of Home.

It's warm and sunny, slightly more muggy than it was on earth, but he isn't  exactly in a state to judge.

It's also  _packed_.

"We have received many families and young ones in the refugee mission," Ryner explains as she leads the team down a wooden plank promenade at the back of the beach, "this is a popular relaxation spot for those wishing for a day out - just like you, I assume."

Eventually, the crowds thin out; by the time they get to the far end of the beach, they're practically isolated from the other aliens. They're also sheltered by a large cliff face, one that Keith instantly starts climbing in order to get to a decent-looking diving spot about halfway up.

"Lance, are you coming?" He calls as he clambers onto the ledge, "It's a perfect hight!"

He knows he should want to smirk and follow, throw off his thin borrowed jacket dramatically and begin the chase.   
But something's holding him back.

"I'll be up in a minute!" He calls back, turning on his foot to help Hunk spread a blanket over the neon green sand, grinning and laughing enough to hopefully cover his discomfort.

Shiro notices, and he knows Shiro notices.  
Even after Allura has waded in, Hunk scrambled up the cliff face to follow Keith, and Pidge has run to the shoreline to get some stupid photos for her digital scrapbook, Lance is still on the blanket.

He doesn't even notice Shiro sitting down next to him until he coughs into the wind.  
"Don't you want to go in the water?" He asks, "Allura says it's great."

"I'll go in in a minute," Lance replies, feigning a loving exasperation, "I'm just relaxing, chill-"

"Well you don't look very relaxed."

Shiro's right; he isn't relaxed at all. He's busy fighting down the urge to run, caught in some mental battle between logic and fear.

"Talk to me, love," Shiro says, shifting his body so he can kneel in front of Lance, "what's wrong? Is it the water?"

Trust Shiro to put it so succinctly.

Lance feels his smile fade, shrugging limply. "I- I don't know," he starts, and Shiro wraps a hand around his, "It's stupid."

"No, it's not," Shiro counters, and there's a determination in steely grey eyes that reminds Lance of the many reasons he loves this man, "you're scared you're gonna' drown? Like back when you were with the U'nans?"

Lance feels himself nod, and Shiro crumples in front of him, running a thumb pad over a still slightly tender cheek. "Oh Lance.."

"I'll be fine," he starts, before Shiro shakes his head gently, and Lance remembers why this topic is so particular to him.

"We all have our demons," he says sagely, and Lance laughs weakly at his seriousness, "maybe water is just yours."

"What, like you and the Galra?"

Shiro nods, reassuring smile starting to appear on his face. "Exactly."

He offers a hand to help Lance up, which he happily takes, and the ocean in front of them looms ominously. It shouldn't be this scary, not something he's grown up with his entire life.

His logic tells him he never drowned at all, was never at risk of drowning, but his emotions remember water in his lungs and overrides.

He wonders if this was how Luis felt after his experience.

"You can do this, Lance," he hears Shiro say. The grip around his hand tightens, a glorious anchor that he sorely needed as the waves start to crash gently over their ankles.

"You okay?" Shiro asks, squeezing his hand, and Lance nods. They wade out into the water together, until the warm sea water is up around Lance's middle.

"Shiro, can we-?"   
He doesn't finish the sentence before Shiro has pulled him round to face him, hands on his biceps protectively. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, I'm fine," Lance replies, and to both his own and Shiro's surprise, he's not lying this time, "I just need a breather."

"Do you want to sit down?" Shiro suggests, and Lance quirks his head, confused, "You can test having the water around your neck, but you're still close enough to the beach that you can run back if you feel like panicking."

That's- That's logical.

Following Shiro's lead, Lance lowers himself gingerly into the water, until it's around his waist, his shoulders, finally around his neck and hitting into his chin with the tide. His heart is racing in his ears, but his face is dry, there's no bitter aftertaste of stagnant water in his mouth.

"How do you feel?" Shiro asks, hands appearing at Lance's sides, and Lance feels himself grin.

"I'm okay," he admits, standing a little bit so he can wade further into the sea, "are you coming?"

Shiro nods, a wordless  _obviously_ , taking Lance's hand again as they go further into the sea.

The next time he panics is when the water gets to around his neck, and his feet are skimming the seabed. The waves are stronger here, and he accidentally inhaled a bit during a mistimed breath, but Shiro is immediately at his side, running wet fingers slowly across his nape. The black quickly retracts from his no-longer tunnelling vision, and he can already feel his heart rate falling.

"Honestly, Shiro, I'm okay," he says with a laugh, spinning on the spot to face Shiro and to wrap long arms around his neck, "I- It's not as bad as i thought it was gonna' be, y'know?"

"Really?" Shiro replies, hands returning to Lance's middle, "thats- that's great!"

Lance grins cheekily, splaying his hands against Shiro's back. "Well, it's hard to be scared with such a dashingly strong, not to mention handsome, boyf-"  
"Yep," Shiro interrupts, matching his grin, "you're back."

"You love me really," he teases, before kissing Shiro tenderly on the lips, twisting his head as he feels Shiro begin to press into his. He's pulled forward, but he doesn't really care, simply holding Shiro tighter.

"Thank you," he murmurs against his lips, and he feels Shiro smile humbly in response, "thank you for this, I'm sorry I ruined your beach day."

"You haven't ruined anything," he whispers back, and Lance feels his grin grow wider, "I'd do this all again in a heart beat, if that's what it takes for you to be comfortable."

"Really?"

Shiro answers him with another gentle kiss, before pulling away and leaning their foreheads together. "If it helps, consider this repayment for the amount of times I've woken you up with nightmares."

Lance just laughs, leaning in for another kiss, which Shiro happily reciprocates, when-

"Ha, you two are gross!"

Shocked, Lance spins around to see Pidge hanging off the rockface, camera in her free hand. Keith is sat with his legs dangling over the diving ledge, Hunk hovering behind him with a wide grin on his face, whilst Allura is in the water below, smiling warmly from her position on a gold inflatable chair.

"Ignore Pidge," she calls, flicking her sunglasses onto the top of her head, "you're very cute together."

"Really?" Lance calls back confidently. He  _knows_  they're cute, but the validation is always appreciated.

"Yeah," Keith shouts back, "doesn't mean I'm done questioning Shiro's taste in men, though."

That earns a muffled laugh from Shiro, that Lance splashes him for with a flick of his wrist. "Uh, rude!"

Shiro responds by running wet hands though his hair. "Two can play at this game!"

"Water fight?" Hunk asks, before he practically vaults over Keith to jump off the rock, splashing into the sea, "water fight!"

"Oh, it's on!" Pidge shouts back, stuffing the camera into a pouch around her neck before retaliating, accidentally hitting Allura with the splash.

"Lance?" Shiro asks quietly, grabbing his wrist just before he joins in, "You sure about this?"

Lance nods, and a wicked grin moves across his face, events of yesterday completely forgotten.

"Let's kick some watery ass!"

**Author's Note:**

> Hope that was okay for y'all :")  
> Sorry :’)
> 
> (Also I’m probably gonna be head deep in shance fluff week from here on in, apologies!!!)


End file.
